Welcome to my collection. My topic is birds and I collect mostly covers but I will show you a variety of philatelic material that is part my collection.

Friday, 29 October 2010

My first cover from Uganda with bird stamps issued in 1992.Grey Crowned Crane(Balearica regulorum): This African bird can be found in dry savvanah. It has two subspecies. It is the national bird of Uganda and it is listed as vulnerable. It feeds on insects, grass seeds and invertebrates.Abyssinian Roller(Coracias abyssinica): It lives in tropical Africa. Only the northern part of its population migrates southern. It feeds on rodents and large insects.Shining Blue Kingfisher(Alcedo quadribrachys): This kingfisher can be found in Africa.

Thursday, 28 October 2010

This registered cover from Jordan uses the complete bird issue from 1970.White-crowned Wheatear(Oenanthe leucopyga): This flycatcher can be found in stony desserts in Africa and in the Arabian Peninsula. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe. It feeds on insects.Palestine Sunbird (Cinnyris oseus): It can be found in sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East. It has two subspecies. It feeds on nectar and insects.Masked Shrike(Lanius nubicus): It can be found in Iran, southeastern Europe and the eastern end of the Mediterranean. It the winter it migrates to northeast Africa. It feeds on voles, small birds, lizards and large insects.

Thank you Daniel for this nice cover from Philippines. The first two stamps are a part of set of four issued in 2009. The last stamp, also coming from a set of four, was released in 2004. In the Philippines can be found 16 owl species.Luzon Scops-owl(Otus longicornis): It is endemic to the mountains of Luzon island in Philippines.Philippine Eagle-owl(Bubo philippensis): Another owl endemic to the Philippines. It is classified as vulnerable. It feeds on small mammals and birds and it has two subspecies.Philippine Scops-owl(Otus megalotis): Also endemic to the forests of the Philippines. It feeds on insects.

Today I will start with a machine canceled cover from South Africa. The stamp is part of a set of five issued in 2009. Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis) is endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa. It is a near threatened species. It feeds on fish such as sardines.

Now a FDC from Israel. The set was released in the 27th of January 2010. Eurasian Hoopoe was shown before.European Goldfinch(Carduelis carduelis): This finch lives in western and central Asia, North Africa and Europe. When it lives in colder areas it migrates in winter. The species is divated to two major groups with twelve subspecies. It feeds on seeds.Graceful Prinia(Prinia gracilis): This warbler is resident to southwest Asia and northeast Africa. There are twelve subspecies.

This sheet arrived today from Czech Republic inside the above cover. The sheet was issued in 2010 while the bird stamp on the cover is a part of a similar sheet issued in 2007. I have already written about Common Roller, Wallcreeper and Eurasian Hoopoe.Common or Eurasian Kestrel(Falco tinnunculus): It can be found in Africa, Asia, Europe and sometimes to the east coast of North America. The birds living in colder areas migrate south in the winter. It feeds on mouse-sized mammals, small birds, lizards, frogs, bats, invertebrates and insects. It has eleven subspecies.Barred Warbler(Sylvia nisoria): It can be found in temperate Asia and eastern Europe. In winter it migrates to eastern Africa. It is insectivorous but it can also eat berries and soft fruit.Golden Oriole(Oriolus oriolus): It lives in temperate areas of the northern hemisphere. In summer it migrates in western Asia and Europe will in winter it can be found in the tropics. It feeds on fruit and insects.

Saturday, 16 October 2010

Thank you James for this card sent from South Korea.Black-crowned Night Heron(Nycticorax nycticorax): The stamp was released in 2000. This medium-sized heron can be found almost anywhere expect Australasia and the coldest parts of the planet. It eats small fish, crustaceans, small birds, small mammals, frogs and aquatic insects.Tundra Swan(Cygnus columbianus): It is the smallest of the holarctic swans and it has two subspecies. It can be found in Arctic and subarctic tundra but it migrates in marshlands and grasslands near the coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic vegetation.

This is one of the many excellent covers I received from Wand Jia Yi (www.gonewithpostcards.blogspot.com). The stamps and m/s used were issued in 2004. On the m/s you can see Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus) which was already presented in a cover from Thailand. The two stamps depict Indian or Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus). This pheasant, which is native to South Asia, is the national bird of India. It feeds on grain, berries, seeds, fruit, insects, lizards, snakes and small rodents. On the first stamp you can see the leucistic variety of the species.

Thank you Heather for this card from Australia. The lower two values of the four 2009 Songbirds of Australia stamps are used for postage.Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris): This bowerbird is endemic to the east coast of Australia where it lives in subtropical forests. It feeds on fruit and flowers.Noisy Scrub-bird(Atrichornis clamosus): It is also endemic to Australia. It lives in temperate shrubland but due to habitat loss it is threatened and for a while in the past it was considerated exctinct.

Thank you Dao for both the cards you sent me from Vietnam, this is the 1st one. The stamp, issued in 2010, is a part of a set of three plus a m/s. Spoon;billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) is a small wader. It can be found in northeastern Russia and in winter, when it migrates, in South and Southeast Asia. It is an endangered species.

Thank you Nevasara for yet another great postcard. The penguin stamp was released in 2000 and the loon one in 2005.Magellanic Penguin(Spheniscus maggellanicus): It lives in South America. It is of medium size and it feeds on crustaceans. It is a threatened species.Black-throated or Arctic Loon(Gavia arctica): This migratory bird can be found in the northern hemisphere. It feeds on fish.

Thursday, 14 October 2010

Hello everyone, today I will present this cover sent to me from USA, thank you Michael. The whole Hawaiian Rain Forest set is used. It was released in September 2010 and as you can see it was sent to Hawaii for the special first day postmark. Five of the ten stamps depict birds and four of the five species are presented for the first time on stamps. From left to right:Apapane(Himatione sanguinea): This finch is endemic to Hawaii. It mostly feeds on nectar from flowers but it can also eat insects.Omao(Myadestes obscurus): This thrush is also endemic to Hawaii and it is listed as vulnerable. It feeds on fruit, berries, snails, insects and flower bracts.Akepa (Loxops coccineus): Also endemic to Hawaii, this bird has three subspecies but only Loxops coccineus coccineus has not been extinct. It feeds on small caterpillars which it finds on 'Ohi'a-lehua trees leaf buds. It also feeds on this tree's nectar and on insects and arthropods it finds on koa trees.Hawaii Amakihi(Hemignathus virens): It is endemic to Hawaii too. It is one of the most common honeycreepers there. This finch eats nectar, juices from fruit, insects and spiders.Iiwi (Vestiaria coccinea): This endemic to Hawaii Hawaiian hummingbird-niched species is endangered. It feeds on nectar and small arthropods.